*At a time when all we seem to hear about is black men running from the law, getting killed or being incarcerated as if the white man’s life depended on it, its refreshing to discover a young man who has his energies directed towards a solid financial future.

Someone who, though not a huge TV or film star, has made some waves in the medium – but is not dependent upon it.

John A. Baker, Jr. better known as Spoken Reasons, may or may not be familiar to you, but you can ask his 1.7 million YouTube channel subscribers about him. I’m sure they will confirm his status as one of the biggest internet celebrities out there today.

At 26-years of age, Baker, a comedian, actor, producer, and poet from Bradenton, Florida, has amassed a net worth of around $800,000.

And we get the impression he’s just getting started.

The tycoon-in-training created his own YouTube channel (and you’ve heard how many subscribe to it above) and created the web series “Relationship Games,” which he writes and produces. As of December 2014, stats reveal his channel had more than 250 million total views!

His videos caught the eye of director Paul Feig, an opportunity that segued into appearances in the 2013 20th Century Fox comedy The Heat, with Sandra Bullock; episodes of the Brazilian TV series “CQC – Custe o Que Custar” and a role on the Kevin Hart vehicle, “Real Husbands of Hollywood” in 2014.

Reasons has also worked alongside entertainment industry mogul Russell Simmons on his All Def Digital in 2013.

It seems every successful entrepreneur has a mantra they follow, and Spoken Reasons is no exception. His mantra in life is #FCHW (Faith, Consistency, and Hard Work), and he makes the best use of his YouTube channel to promote this to his million plus subscribers.

Its no fluke that Spoken Reasons is chosen as the ThisNthat Spotlight holder.

FINANCIAL JUNETEENTH LESSONS FROM THIS STORY (COURTESY OF DR BOYCE WATKINS):

1) If you want your children to be able to compete in the 21st century, make sure they are in-tune with the digital age. The Internet is earning trillions of dollars for those who know how to use it. Much of this revenue is being earned off of black people who think that Twitter and Facebook are only meant for socializing. Every time you tweet or hit the like button, somebody is getting paid. That’s why Mark Zuckerberg earns more in a week than LeBron James earns in an entire year.

2) The Internet has democratized media in such a way that African Americans no longer have to beg others to allow our message to get to the masses. This is critically important in our quest for equality. By harnessing the power of technology, we can create more black millionaires than the NBA and NFL combined. Forming tech incubators in your local community and participating in crowd funding projects for promising young black people who build tech-based businesses might be the way you can be a part of this wealth-generating process. There is a ton of money being made on the Internet. In fact, its equivalent to the California gold rush, where many whites made fortunes over 100 years ago.

December 6, 2016

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